Legal arguments delay evidence before jury at trial for conspiracy to commit murder at Coutts blockade

What was supposed to be a full day of evidence at the trial of two men charged with conspiracy to commit murder at the Coutts, Alta., border blockade two years ago turned into a day of legal arguments without the jury present.

Anthony Olienick and Chris Carbert are on trial charged with conspiracy to commit murder at the protest in early 2022.

They were arrested after RCMP found a cache of guns, body armour and ammunition in trailers.

RCMP Sgt. Greg Tulloch, who acted as a liaison with the protesters, was scheduled to complete his testimony Friday, but instead the court spent the day discussing matters that are under a publication ban.

Media are not allowed to report anything that occurs when the jury is not in the courtroom.

The blockade paralyzed traffic at the busy Canada-United States border crossing for two weeks amid broader protests overwhat some perceived as unfair and unnecessary government restrictions and vaccine mandates in the fight against COVID-19.

In his opening statements, a Crown prosecutor told the five-man, nine-woman jury that the two men conspired to kill police officers and were planning for what they believed was an inevitable and violent event.

The trial is scheduled to resume Monday.